Periodic Reporting for period 3 - INSENSE (Incentive salience in human cognition during health and disorder)
Reporting period: 2022-08-01 to 2024-01-31
Incentive salience is a form of motivation for reward that is triggered by environmental cues. These come to be ‘wanted’: they create an urge or craving for approach and consumption that influences choice and guides action. Stimuli imbued with incentive salience are thought to become salient, attention-drawing, and impossible to ignore, and a leading theory of addiction proposes that drug stimulation of the brain’s reward system may create intense and abnormal incentive salience for drug-related stimuli. Consistent with this, work with animals has linked incentive salience to signaling in mesocorticolimbic brain systems, and the release of nigrostriatal dopamine in particular. But direct investigation of incentive salience in human cognition is sparse, and the application of ideas from animal research to our understanding of human incentive salience has led to pervasive ambiguity and misunderstanding. Direct research with humans is needed to determine the role that incentive salience plays in normal and abnormal human cognition, and particularly in addiction. The objective of INSENSE is therefore to use cutting-edge tools from cognitive neuroscience to a.) characterize the computational and neural substrates of human incentive salience, and b.) determine how failures in these systems underlie addictive human behaviour. This is accomplished through the combined use of techniques like transcranial electrical stimulation, psychopharmacology, electroencephalogram, multivariate pattern analysis of functional magnetic resonance data, and computational modelling in order to index, characterize, and manipulate the neural representation of naturalistic reward-associated stimuli.
The project has been adversely impacted by the COVID pandemic. Research was largely stalled for large chunks of 2020 and 2021 and has only returned to 'normal' level in 2022.
August 1st, 2019 - February 20th, 2020
Jaclyn Dell begins as PhD student on the INSENSE project (WP3). Development of EEG experiment; beginning of data collection.
Clayton Hickey collects EEG data (WP2); begins training as MRI operator (WP2, WP4).
February 21st, 2020 - March 9th, 2020
University of Birmingham, the host institution, halts all research with human participants.
Jaclyn Dell returns to home in United States (remote project work begins).
Clayton Hickey has COVID (2 weeks sick).
March 10, 2020 - June 23rd, 2020
First national lockdown in UK. National work-from-home order; home schooling of children; reorganization of University education programme to provide online service. No access to University research facilities.
Jaclyn Dell begins work on a review paper (WP3).
Clayton Hickey begins analysis of project EEG data, publicly available MRI data, implementation of INSENSE experiments (WP4).
June 24th, 2020 - October 30th, 2020
University of Birmingham work-from-home order continues. Schools periodically closed (local outbreaks). No access to University research facilities.
Jaclyn Dell continues work on review paper, begins analysis of incomplete EEG dataset (WP3).
Clayton Hickey continues data analysis, implementation of INSENSE experiments (WP4).
David Acunzo begins as postdoctoral fellow on the INSENSE project (WP2, WP4). Develops online experiment, begins online data collection (WP2).
October 31st, 2020 - December 2nd, 2020
Second national lockdown in UK. National work from home order; home schooling of children. No access to University research facilities.
Jaclyn Dell completes analysis of incomplete EEG dataset (WP3).
Clayton Hickey begins preparation of review paper (WP2).
David Acunzo completes first online experiment (WP2).
December 3rd, 2020 - January 5th, 2021
Limited access to University research facilities.
Jaclyn Dell returns from US, completes EEG data collection (WP3), returns to US on announcement of 3rd lockdown.
Clayton Hickey tests continues MRI operator training, tests MRI experiments (WP4).
David Acunzo begins MRI operator training (WP4).
January 6th, 2021 - April 11th, 2021
Third national lockdown in UK. National work-from-home order; home schooling of children. No access to University research facilities.
Jaclyn Dell analyzes complete EEG data set (WP3).
Clayton Hickey analyzes EEG data (WP2); returns to preparation of review paper (WP2).
David Acunzo analyzes results from online experiment, begins preparation of paper on these results (WP2).
April 12th, 2021 - July 31st, 2021
Limited access to University research facilities. Limited availability of volunteer research participants.
Jaclyn Dell prepares review paper (WP3).
Clayton Hickey submits paper on EEG data (WP2), submits behavioural paper (WP2), returns to preparation of review paper (WP2).
David Acunzo resumes MRI operator training (WP2, WP4).
Aug 1st, 2021 - October 31st, 2021
Damiano Grignolio begins as PhD student on the INSENSE project (WP2, WP4). Begins MRI operator training, prepares online experiment, collects data for online experiment.
Jaclyn Dell has COVID (1 month), begins leave of absence from PhD.
Clayton Hickey revises and resubmits paper on EEG data (WP2). Clayton Hickey revises and resubmits paper on behavioural data (WP2)
David Acunzo submits paper on online data (WP2), completes MRI operator training (WP2, WP4), begins data collection for concurrent MRI/EEG (WP4).
*** First INSENSE paper is accepted, July, 2021.***
Hickey & van Zoest (2021, Visual Cognition) - Commentary / review of recent research on attentional control.
*** Second INSENSE paper is accepted, August, 2021.***
van Zoest, Huber, Weaver, & Hickey (2021, J. Neurosci) - Large, multiexperiment paper on EEG indices of attentional control over incentive salience, deliverable for WP2.
November 1st, 2021 - December 31st, 2021
Damiano Grignolio and David Acunzo collect concurrent EEG/MRI data (WP4).
Damiano Grignolio analyzes data from online experiment (WP2).
Clayton Hickey prepares paper on EEG data (WP2).
*** Third INSENSE paper is accepted, December, 2021 ***
Wu, Bagshaw, Hickey, Kühn, & Wilson (2022, Neuroimage) - MRI proof of principle for phenotyping of MRS profiles, basework for research on how individual differences in neurochemistry relate to incentive salience and addiction.
*** Fourth INSENSE paper is accepted, December, 2021 ***
Abbasi, Kadel, Hickey & Schubö (2022, Psychophysiology) - EEG paper on interplay of experience and strategic control in attentional control.
January 1st, 2022 - January 31st, 2022
Damiano Grignolio and David Acunzo collect concurrent EEG/MRI data (WP2, WP4).
David Acunzo implements pipeline for EEG/MRI data.
Damiano Grignolio has COVID (2 weeks), submits paper on online data (WP2).
Clayton Hickey submits paper on EEG data (WP2).
Papers currently under review:
Sharp, Gutteling, Melcher, & Hickey (under review, J Neurosci) - MEG evidence of interplay in spatial and temporal attention, basework for WP2.
Acunzo, Terhune, Sharma, & Hickey (under review, J R in Personality) - Behavioural examination of suggestibility and relationship to compulsivity / impulsivity, basework for WP3.
Barbaro & Hickey (under review, Personality Neuroscience) - MRI study of personality effects on visual representation, basework for WP2 / WP4.
Dell, Acunzo, & Hickey (under review, J Neurosci - EEG study of establishment of control over incentive salience, deliverable for WP3.
Pending conferences:
Acunzo, Grignolio, Munasinghe (undergrad medical student), Hickey - 4 posters at British Association of Cognitive Neuroscience, Birmingham UK, May 2022.
Acunzo, Grignolio, Munasinghe, Hickey - 4 posters at International Conference of Cognitive Neuroscience, Helsinki FI, May 2022
August 1st, 2019 - February 20th, 2020
Jaclyn Dell begins as PhD student on the INSENSE project (WP3). Development of EEG experiment; beginning of data collection.
Clayton Hickey collects EEG data (WP2); begins training as MRI operator (WP2, WP4).
February 21st, 2020 - March 9th, 2020
University of Birmingham, the host institution, halts all research with human participants.
Jaclyn Dell returns to home in United States (remote project work begins).
Clayton Hickey has COVID (2 weeks sick).
March 10, 2020 - June 23rd, 2020
First national lockdown in UK. National work-from-home order; home schooling of children; reorganization of University education programme to provide online service. No access to University research facilities.
Jaclyn Dell begins work on a review paper (WP3).
Clayton Hickey begins analysis of project EEG data, publicly available MRI data, implementation of INSENSE experiments (WP4).
June 24th, 2020 - October 30th, 2020
University of Birmingham work-from-home order continues. Schools periodically closed (local outbreaks). No access to University research facilities.
Jaclyn Dell continues work on review paper, begins analysis of incomplete EEG dataset (WP3).
Clayton Hickey continues data analysis, implementation of INSENSE experiments (WP4).
David Acunzo begins as postdoctoral fellow on the INSENSE project (WP2, WP4). Develops online experiment, begins online data collection (WP2).
October 31st, 2020 - December 2nd, 2020
Second national lockdown in UK. National work from home order; home schooling of children. No access to University research facilities.
Jaclyn Dell completes analysis of incomplete EEG dataset (WP3).
Clayton Hickey begins preparation of review paper (WP2).
David Acunzo completes first online experiment (WP2).
December 3rd, 2020 - January 5th, 2021
Limited access to University research facilities.
Jaclyn Dell returns from US, completes EEG data collection (WP3), returns to US on announcement of 3rd lockdown.
Clayton Hickey tests continues MRI operator training, tests MRI experiments (WP4).
David Acunzo begins MRI operator training (WP4).
January 6th, 2021 - April 11th, 2021
Third national lockdown in UK. National work-from-home order; home schooling of children. No access to University research facilities.
Jaclyn Dell analyzes complete EEG data set (WP3).
Clayton Hickey analyzes EEG data (WP2); returns to preparation of review paper (WP2).
David Acunzo analyzes results from online experiment, begins preparation of paper on these results (WP2).
April 12th, 2021 - July 31st, 2021
Limited access to University research facilities. Limited availability of volunteer research participants.
Jaclyn Dell prepares review paper (WP3).
Clayton Hickey submits paper on EEG data (WP2), submits behavioural paper (WP2), returns to preparation of review paper (WP2).
David Acunzo resumes MRI operator training (WP2, WP4).
Aug 1st, 2021 - October 31st, 2021
Damiano Grignolio begins as PhD student on the INSENSE project (WP2, WP4). Begins MRI operator training, prepares online experiment, collects data for online experiment.
Jaclyn Dell has COVID (1 month), begins leave of absence from PhD.
Clayton Hickey revises and resubmits paper on EEG data (WP2). Clayton Hickey revises and resubmits paper on behavioural data (WP2)
David Acunzo submits paper on online data (WP2), completes MRI operator training (WP2, WP4), begins data collection for concurrent MRI/EEG (WP4).
*** First INSENSE paper is accepted, July, 2021.***
Hickey & van Zoest (2021, Visual Cognition) - Commentary / review of recent research on attentional control.
*** Second INSENSE paper is accepted, August, 2021.***
van Zoest, Huber, Weaver, & Hickey (2021, J. Neurosci) - Large, multiexperiment paper on EEG indices of attentional control over incentive salience, deliverable for WP2.
November 1st, 2021 - December 31st, 2021
Damiano Grignolio and David Acunzo collect concurrent EEG/MRI data (WP4).
Damiano Grignolio analyzes data from online experiment (WP2).
Clayton Hickey prepares paper on EEG data (WP2).
*** Third INSENSE paper is accepted, December, 2021 ***
Wu, Bagshaw, Hickey, Kühn, & Wilson (2022, Neuroimage) - MRI proof of principle for phenotyping of MRS profiles, basework for research on how individual differences in neurochemistry relate to incentive salience and addiction.
*** Fourth INSENSE paper is accepted, December, 2021 ***
Abbasi, Kadel, Hickey & Schubö (2022, Psychophysiology) - EEG paper on interplay of experience and strategic control in attentional control.
January 1st, 2022 - January 31st, 2022
Damiano Grignolio and David Acunzo collect concurrent EEG/MRI data (WP2, WP4).
David Acunzo implements pipeline for EEG/MRI data.
Damiano Grignolio has COVID (2 weeks), submits paper on online data (WP2).
Clayton Hickey submits paper on EEG data (WP2).
Papers currently under review:
Sharp, Gutteling, Melcher, & Hickey (under review, J Neurosci) - MEG evidence of interplay in spatial and temporal attention, basework for WP2.
Acunzo, Terhune, Sharma, & Hickey (under review, J R in Personality) - Behavioural examination of suggestibility and relationship to compulsivity / impulsivity, basework for WP3.
Barbaro & Hickey (under review, Personality Neuroscience) - MRI study of personality effects on visual representation, basework for WP2 / WP4.
Dell, Acunzo, & Hickey (under review, J Neurosci - EEG study of establishment of control over incentive salience, deliverable for WP3.
Pending conferences:
Acunzo, Grignolio, Munasinghe (undergrad medical student), Hickey - 4 posters at British Association of Cognitive Neuroscience, Birmingham UK, May 2022.
Acunzo, Grignolio, Munasinghe, Hickey - 4 posters at International Conference of Cognitive Neuroscience, Helsinki FI, May 2022
Human incentive salience is currently thought to be a DA-driven Pavlovian mechanism that acts on the perceptual representations of environmental stimuli. It has been interpreted as a critical mechanism in the instantiation of human addictive behaviour. But this characterization is debatable. First, there is little direct evidence that DA is the prime mover in human incentive salience. It is very likely that other systems are also involved in instantiating the effect. For example, serotonin projections from the caudate tail may link craving to sensory input, and glutamatergic signaling in amygdala may bind valence to discrete stimuli. These mechanisms may operate independently of DA to create incentive salience, or they may rely on DA signaling to be initiated. The causative role of DA in human incentive salience is therefore directly tested in WP1 of the INSENSE project using combined psychopharmacology and neuroimaging. Second, it is unclear if incentive salience reflects model-free Pavlovian learning. It is clear that human choice behaviour does not, but this could reflect cognitive deliberation unrelated to incentive salience. To test the possibility that incentive salience can be accounted for by model-free learning, linking it to the broader literature on reinforcement learning, we must develop an index of the representation of reward-associated stimuli that can be modelled independently of overt response. WP4 proposes to do so using MVPA analysis of fMRI. Third, it is unclear that incentive salience reflects variance in the sensory or perceptual encoding of environmental stimuli, rather than effects at later cognitive stages like decision-making or motor control. WP2 addresses this issue using time-resolved neuroimaging and by manipulating sensory plasticity using transcranial electrical stimulation. Finally, the idea that human addicts are biased to encode information about drug-related stimuli has been tested primarily through observation of overt response. But overt response is sensitive to effects at cognitive stages other than sensation and perception. WP3 tests the idea that drug-related stimuli are perceptually and attentionally prioritized in addiction using eye-tracking and concurrent neuroimaging. The idea of incentive salience remains grounded in animal research, and this creates ambiguity and misunderstanding in its application to human cognition in health and disorder. The INSENSE project is designed to use cutting-edge tools from cognitive neuroscience to test the efficacy of this idea as an account of human behaviour and brain activity.